Lin's Confidence
by DavidAlatriste
Summary: Lin gets dragged to a public event and ponders about her life


Prompts: "If you believe in yourself, anything is possible", "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."-Colin Powell, 1234 words.

Word Count: Surprisingly, 1234. I honestly didn't thought I could manage that one.

Lin hated to be a public figure sometimes; she just wanted to do her job. Catching criminals, Protect the Innocent, all that stuff they brainwashed you with in the academy; she honestly wanted to just DO that and not to deal with this kind of political things.

Because Raiko sending her to read freaking Cinderella to a bunch of orphans from the recently-created orphanage was nothing but a political move for his bloody reelection. For all Lin cared that thing was assured if the man was able to pull through with rebuilding the city, again, after the Kuvira fiasco.

And why her? Why did she have to do it for him? Why couldn't he come to read them himself? Lin is as away from politics as she is away from wanting kids of her own; she isn't some ally Raiko can send and have a share of the light. Lin will just get a photograph taken and some rookie from the paper will do 500 words on the story and that's it. She gained nothing and lost precious time from keeping citizens from rioting with the reallocations the reconstruction needed.

But what's the use of bickering? She'll just have to swallow her anger as always and do the thing _Dammit Varrick_ she said to herself as she came up to the orphanage building and the media pounced her with questions like she was a Rabaroo in front of a pack of Tiger-cats.

"Are you running for the vice-presidency?"

"How true is it that Avatar Korra is off in vacations with the world in such awful conditions?"

"Do you have any information concerning Asami Sato and where or on what she's been up to? Rumors have it that she left for the spirit world with Avatar Korra. Do you think they might be taking a symbolic stand on the legislation the opposition is pushing with the objective of punishing homosexuality with chemical therapy?"

"Is it true that Master Tenzin could be tried for the newfound evidence that claims he knew of Kuvira's death camps and still did nothing? What about President Raiko? Was he aware of the death machine Kuvira installed in the Earth Empire? Did he collude in any way with her?"

Lin knew she had to answer those from the bunch of questions she got thrown her way, since a 'No comment' could be taken up to the next level and next thing she'll knew there were going to be rumors that Suyin and her personally taught Kuvira all that hateful philosophy that lead her to do those atrocities to non-earth natives and those of mixing blood.

"I am not running for any eligible position whatsoever. If the next administrations till wants me where I am, I'll stay if not I'll retire" _Damn it! Now they're going to say I'm getting old! Ah what's the use. I said it out loud_ "I have no information on Avatar Korra or Ms. Sato and I believe you should ask them any and all questions that concern their lives to them. Avatar Korra is a valuable ally that I'm sure had her reasons to leave after her four years of absence" _She's a lazy twenty-one year old that went on vacation after dealing with the colossus and left the fallout to us, the old guard._ "Ms. Sato has always been a private person who lost her father in the recent battle. I believe it would be respectful to both her and her father's memory to leave her to her grief and wait for her to reach out and give a statement" _The kid lost her dad; she's earned her rest and time alone a while ago when her mom got killed and the world moved on._

"As for the rumors, may I add, about Tenzin knowing about Kuvira's concentration camps; I highly doubt that Tenzin would've known and not told every single person he knew about it. Avatar Aang raised us both and he always believed that life was the most sacred of objects in the universe and such an atrocity against it would've made him denounce it to everyone who would listen" _After all these years and I still have stand up for you, you bald bastard_ "As for President Raiko's involvement or knowledge about the camps; I can only say that I highly doubt that a man of his beliefs would know and not do something" _The bastard knew and tried to cover it up. I leaked the information to you, you bastards! How did Tenzin got dragged into this. His name never showed up in the documents!_ "I believe that not anyone on the current administration could've know and sit while people were being slaughter like cattle."

Lin was running late and decided she had nothing else to say about the subjects that the reporters had in mind, so she left without saying more and quickly entered the orphanage.

The reading went well, all things considered, and kids well; they're something of a curious thing now that she thinks of it. Quite naïve but yet better than most adults somehow.

Lin hated every word of Cinderella, given that Toph raised her to the motto of "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." Which was quite true, but yet it had an unpleasant sense of the crude reality that Toph could've waited a few more years to tell her about.

And you know something's wrong in your relationship towards the woman that gave you birth when you couldn't bring yourself to call her mom.

The one thing that never crossed Lin's mind was that she was a hero to this kids just as much as her mom and uncles were to her and her friends; these kids looked up to her like she was Korra or Aang, something bigger than life, something mighty and powerful. Perhaps they even thought she was magical considering some were really young and may not be that exposed to bending.

"When I grow up I want to join the academy and be like her!" A little girl said and for a moment Lin thought about convincing her not to follow her footsteps but could she really do that to a kid? The kid looked exactly like what she imagined she herself looked like when her uncle Sokka told her of how her mom pull them through during the return Sozin's Comet; of how she metal-bent the war balloons into each other and stopped half the fleet from burning the Earth Kingdom.

"If you believe in yourself, anything is possible" Lin quickly told the kid and was rewarded with a gigantic smile from the little one. And she knew she could take that as a small victory because she wasn't lying to the child. It really took that to go anywhere; believing in oneself is the most important thing, the grinning and hard work to get there seemed like nothing if you had that much.

Lin left that building starting to question herself about some life choices she made, but above all things; she was proud of who she was and what she did in her life.


End file.
